Not So Different
by Call Me Curiosity
Summary: Ravenna discovers how a life changes when a name goes from Gaunt to Weasley as she starts her first year at Hogwarts. As she enters her final years, a series of startling events threaten to destroy the life and identity she has built for herself. Who can understand her more than her enemy? Opposites attract, but sometimes they're not so different. Rated T for mature themes.
1. The One In Which She Didn't Smile

**A/N:** This is a total re-working of a fanfiction I was working on about four or five years ago of the same name. Depression halted my writing, but I'm determined to see this through. The plotline has remained the same, but I know that I can do a lot better than I did. I suffered from a serious case of poor proofreading and continuity errors, so hopefully, I can pull it off a little better this time around.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of J.K Rowling's characters or the HP universe, only my OCs and the plotline.

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 **Not So Different**

 **2011**

Hermione Granger-Weasley sat alongside her husband in an area not unlike that of an interrogation room. An older woman- Patricia - sat across from them. Her hair was a faded brown mottled with grey, her face sallow and pinched. Her beady blue eyes scrutinised them, making Hermione feel rather uncomfortable. Ron smiled nervously.

"This is all of them?" He asked. His wife cringed at his boldness. Patricia nodded briskly.

"You wanted family resemblance, which was difficult as you both look vastly different to one another." Her tone was curt, and Ron felt a sharp elbow under the table as Hermione silently scolded him. She shuffled the photographs, watching the children in them smile and wave. All were small, chubby little cherubs, and Hermione's heart melted.

"That one looks cool," Ron said, picking up a magical photograph.

"That's only because he looks like you," His wife huffed. "Besides, you don't refer to a baby as 'looking cool'."

"What's wrong with him looking like me?"

"Your whole family looks like you, Ronald. Hugo look like you," she snapped, a little too harshly. She softened her tone slightly. "Maybe I want some resemblance too." Ron slumped in his chair, reminiscent of a sullen teenager rather than the thirty-one-year-old man he was supposed to be. It was then that Hermione saw the one child that didn't smile.

She reached over and picked up the photograph. The little girl was desperately pale and painfully thin. Her cheekbones threatened to cut her skin, and deep purple shadows loomed under her big dark eyes. Shuffling about with her head dropped low, her dank black hair hung over half of her face. It was only when she looked up at the camera and her hair fell back that Hermione saw in horror that there was a large purple bruise marring her left cheek. She couldn't take her eyes off her. Patricia eyed her closely.

"Merlin..." Ron breathed, taking the photograph. His thumb brushed over her little face and Hermione saw something painful twist on his face. She knew he was thinking about Harry.

"Who is she?" Hermione asked quietly. Patricia reached for a manila folder within a large carpet bag on the floor.

"Ravenna Cassiopeia Gaunt," she said, her expression hard.

Ron's head shot up suddenly, words flying out.

"She's related to Voldemort?"

"Ron."

"I'm just asking, Hermione. It seems like she's been through a lot but we can't just not talk about that side of things-"

"Ron."

"Well, come on 'Mione, is she even safe near our children?"

"Ronald!" Hermione shouted, looking at him in disbelief. "What happened to tolerance? The benefit of the doubt? She's a child!" Ron looked angry but kept his mouth shut. Patricia stared at the two of them, her eyes cold.

"This was a mistake, I can tell. Maybe adoption isn't the right option-"

"No!" Hermione cut in. "No, please. Please." She turned sharply to Ron, eyes imploring him to speak. He looked her in the eyes, his conflict evident, before looking down at the young girl in the photograph. She looked about five years old. Something seemed to shift in the man's face. He looked up again, expression grimly determined but eyes soft.

"Please." He said, voice quiet but firm.

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Let me know what you guys think and watch this space, more coming soon :)

Much love

Curiosity


	2. The One In Which She's Gonna Be Okay

**A/N:** Hello all! Chapter 2 is up very quickly as you can see. This may be a mistake, but I suppose I'll leave it to haunt me later. Big shout out to my very first follower FanGirlForever19 x

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing included in the original works of J.K Rowling, only the works of my own imagination

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 **Chapter 2**

 **2017**

Much as he tried, James Sirius Potter couldn't ignore the shouts of the hassled Hermione Weasley as she bustled around the Burrow. The quilts he pressed around his head did little to block out the screeching, and he realised that the chances of him resuming his sleep had just been downgraded from slim to non-existent. With a disgruntled huff, he rolled out of bed and sauntered over to his drawers to dig out something half decent to throw on. His mum moved on to rouse the rest of them before they were so tragically late they missed the train. Everybody stayed over on special occasions. After Grandma Weasley died, Hermione and Ron were determined that the Burrow would remain the central headquarters of the family, moving in and carrying on her legacy.

The empty camp bed on the floor told him that his cousin Louis was already up, and the soft padding sound outside of his room meant Albus was up too. He opened the door and found him outside, electric toothbrush buzzing away in his blue and white flannel pyjamas. He always wandered around when brushed his teeth.

"Hey," Albus mumbled, dribbling a bit of frothy toothpaste on the carpet. "Mum said to get dressed. Like now." James rolled his eyes and looked down the hall. The room next door was emitting bumps and shouts that meant Lucy, Molly and Roxanne were also up. Lucy was going into Second Year, same as him and Louis and they were tight as anything. With Molly too, though she was a year older than them in third. At that point Dominique walked down the stairs from the third floor to the second, her platinum hair perfectly coiffed and her eyeliner perfectly flicked.

"Potter," she acknowledged with a hint of snootiness to her voice.

"Dominic," James grinned back, to her disgust. Seeming to take the higher ground, she lifted her head a little higher and breezed past. "Hey _Dominic_ , loving the new moustache, oh is that a booger? Hey _Dominic_ , have you gained weight?" That did it. She turned around and glared at him. She started towards him before halting herself. A great big smirk cropped up upon her face.

"Aunt Ginny!" She shouted. James' face fell.

"You tosser…."

Albus Potter was one of the last kids down, the last being James, obviously. Although it had to be noted that James came down in his pyjamas and had to be chased back upstairs to get dressed. When he got down, Albus saw his little sister Lily playing with their cousin Hugo. She was haughtily teaching him the _proper_ way to play Exploding Snap. A whole year made a difference between the two of them, but Hugo patiently took it, allowing her to feel in charge. Hugo's older sister Rose was going into First Year, same as Albus. He noticed she already had her Hogwarts robes on and cringed. She was a little overeager, and James had already teased her for it. Aunt 'Mione had already told him off, but he saw her anxiously watching Rose and Hugo when nobody was looking. He supposed she must worry about them, despite the fact they were a little side-lined because of their sister, Raven. He didn't know how things were with them all, in The Burrow when nobody was visiting, but he knew a few bits and pieces from his frequent sleepovers and overheard conversations his parents had (usually when he and James should've been in bed). He knew Ravenna always looked a little sad. He knew she hated the attention, that she couldn't bare raised voices and often used her magic by accident. He knew that she was the only one who didn't have to share a room, even when everybody came to stay. But he didn't know why. He supposed it was to do with before she was adopted, although he was only five when that happened, and far too young to understand what happened beyond that it was Bad Things.

It took a few times for Uncle Ron to end- or rather pause- their petty squabbles long enough to have their attention. Hermione peered down at a scrap of paper in her hand before she started her headcount. This had become necessary since she once forgot that little Lorcan and Lysander had stayed over one summer, and they were unfortunately left behind the day they went to the beach. Luckily Luna was very good about it, though the twins had not stayed since. She made sure that his cousins Molly, Lucy, the twins Fred and Roxy, Dominique and Louis were all sorted whilst his own mum made sure he and his siblings were all packed up and ready.

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With the green flames of the Floo licking the fireplace, Hermione turned to Ginny Potter.

"Can we talk a minute?" She asked quietly, trying not to look nervous.

"Um, sure 'Mione. Go on kids, you go through with your dad."

"Dad's not ready to go!" Harry yelled from the kitchen, causing Hermione's eyes to roll. She turned in the general direction of the stairs and called out.

"Uncle Ron?"

"Nope! Two seconds!" Neither woman was surprised. Some things never changed. Hermione glanced towards the fireplace and saw Raven waiting by the mantlepiece watching the exchange.

"Go on darlings, you go through with your cousin," Ginny said kindly. The young girl stood back a second or two, nodded carefully and gestured Albus through. James ran ahead of him, jostling his arm, and the younger rolled his eyes and followed on. Holding Raven's hand, little Lily walked through with her eyes squeezed shut. Ginny turned to her friend and sister-in-law. "You alright?"

"Well..." she started, brushing her hair back from her face. "I suppose so. It's Raven, is all. She still needs Sleeping Draught before bed whenever anyone's over, and she still doesn't sleep through. Ron is worried sick, he's still getting up in the middle of the night to soothe her."

"He's mentioned," the redhead admitted, looking towards the fireplace. "Things must be hard for her, even still. It's such an adjustment-"

"I know. And I understand completely. I just thought that things would be a little further along than they are. It's been almost six years, Gin…"

"And it'll get better," the younger soothed. "The minds of children are such delicate and confusing things. I meant, what were we up to at their age?"

"Mooning after me, Mrs Potter," her husband grinned, grabbing her from behind. She blushed a bright red, and her brother started to sing rather badly.

" _His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, his hair is as dark as a blackboard…._ " Harry joined in.

" _I wish he was mine, he's truly divine_ -"

"Right tossers, the lot of you," she murmured good-naturedly under her breath, as the couple walked through the green flames, smiling and happy. Hermione let out the breath she'd be holding and rubbed her arm uneasily. She felt Ron's hand on her shoulder and saw the smile fade from his lips. A look of unspoken understanding passed between them.

"It's gonna be okay, 'Mione." He promised, voice steady and earnest. "She's gonna be just fine."

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Hey guys,

Second chapter up very quickly! I'd love some feedback so favourite, follow and review!

Much love

Curiosity

s


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